Bitter Sugar: A Lupe Solano Mystery [Bargain Price] [Hardcover]

Carolina Garcia-Aguilera (Author)

Book Description

Series: Lupe Solano Mysteries | Publication Date: October 23, 2001

The dearest friend of Lupe Solana's beloved "Papi," Ramón Suarez was the owner of a prosperous sugar mill back in Cuba until Castro forced him into exile. Now an unnamed Spanish source wants to purchase the confiscated property at a fraction of its true value. Suarez wants the sexy, smart, hot-tempered South Florida P.I. to find out why, but Ramon's lazy, no-good nephew Alexander just wants to take the money and run. Then Alexander is found brutally slain in a sleazy Miami hotel -- his last known visitor, Tío Ramón, accused of murder. Lupe's routine journey down a paper trail now turns into something darker and more twisted, entangling her in a mysterious web of spun sugar and blood that will bring bullets smashing through her window and death to her door.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Surprises abound in Lupe Solano's sixth foray (after 2000's Havana Heat) into the seamier side of Miami's Cuban Amigra community, whose residents await Castro's defeat and an eventual return home. Some exiled sugar barons have made second fortunes, like Tio Ramon, head of the Suarez family and Lupe's father's lifelong friend. When Ramon's nephew and co-owner of the family sugar mills receives a buyout offer and then disappears, he asks her Papi for help and the dutiful daughter gears up immediately. Lupe is not always so skillful at juggling her two lives, that of a cosseted daughter, still living at home and pinning medals of the Virgin to her brassiere strap, with that of the emancipated single woman, a savvy PI with lovers and a wardrobe to die for. The author exploits this dichotomy to sometimes hilarious and sometimes tragic effect. As Detective Anderson of the Miami police points out, bodies seem to accumulate around her. Loyalty, tradition, principle and justice guide her, although she's not above taking a few shortcuts to get what she needs. She will go to extraordinary lengths for family, friends and clients, often at no small cost to herself, as is the case when she winds up in the hospital. This present challenge is a chance to gain her father's approval of her career choice, even though he may not like what she uncovers. Garcia-Aguilera saves her best surprise until last, leaving fans wanting more. (Oct. since Garcia-Aguilera is currently writing a romance novel for HarperCollins.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Cuban American private detective Lupe Solano attempts to help a friend of her father after he receives disturbing news. Foreigners interested in buying his confiscated sugar plantations in Cuba want him and his nephew to relinquish all claims. Lupe's involvement escalates when someone subsequently kills the nephew. Strongly recommended.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company; 1st edition (October 23, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380977818
• ASIN: B00008MNVV
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,394,797 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good but loose ends, July 11, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Bitter Sugar: A Lupe Solano Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

After her last two books which I found disappointing because of their endless repetition of the same Cuban aspects (I find the Cuban dimension interesting, but not the same minor details over and over), this is a good story -- until the end, when there are too many important loose ends, such as the implications of the killer's identity, her injury and other significant story points.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Meant to Be Enjoyed Like a Fine Wine, June 23, 2003

By 

Imperial Topaz (Marrakesh, Morocco) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bitter Sugar: A Lupe Solano Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

This first-person detective novel about private investigator Lupé Solano, set in Miami sometime after the Elian Gonzales affair, is a wonderful woman's FANTASY!! I came across this book because I was specifically looking for books with WOMEN as the private investigators. The exotic setting also attracted me. This book has far exceeded my expectations-so much so, that I anticipate reading the book again and again.

I LOVED this book. Lupé is a bright, intelligent young woman out of the Cuban community in Miami, who has become a private investigator, much to the chagrin of her conservative Cuban family. The character is single, either late 20's or early 30's. She tools around in a Mercedes, conducts half her meetings in lavish restaurants, and has dashingly handsome men coming in and out of her life like a revolving door! This is what I mean by the book being a woman's fantasy. This lightens up the book compared to other, male private investigator books. It was a nice change from the PI books where the main character is barely making ends meet, and always dealing with one scruffy person after another.

I enjoy exotic settings and foreign cultures, and that made this book doubly enjoyable for me. I learned a lot about the Cuban community in south Florida, and was quite favorably impressed! I also learned about what it was like for the Cuban exiles before, during, and after they left Cuba, as well as how and why they left.

Lupé investigates a double-homicide with all sorts of interesting characters. But she does it all in STYLE. This book is definitely NOT a thriller, in terms of not being able to put it down. It's a book to be read leisurely, and savored, page by page, just like a fine wine. The first thing I'm going to do now is see if this author has written any more books for this character, as it appears to be first in a possible series. If there are any more, I intend to buy every one!

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Series That Keeps Improving, November 27, 2001

By 

Kent Braithwaite (Palm Desert, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bitter Sugar: A Lupe Solano Mystery (Lupe Solano Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Carolina Garcia-Aguilera is one of the finest mystery writers to emerge within the last decade. With her sixth Lupe Solano mystery BITTER SUGAR, Ms. Garcia-Aguilera keeps her reputation improving. In this novel, Lupe finds herself hired by an old friend of her father's. The expatriate Cuban sugar planter wants Lupe to investigate the details of a business proposal involving sugar plantations that had been held by his family for nearly two centuries before Castro's revolution. A homicide soon occurs, and Lupe finds herself dragged once more into an adventure suited perfectly for a contemporary American woman with proud ties to her Cuban roots. As always, Lupe and her supporting characters are major attractions of this series. Ms. Garcia-Aguilera's presentation of the minlging of cultures in the Florida of today is another treat I especially enjoy. BITTER SUGAR is among the best of the Lupe Solano series, and I recommend it heartily.